Improvement in straw-cutters



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

JOHN MOMAHEL, OF HAMILTON, OHIO.

IM PROVEM ENT IN STRAW-CUTTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 59,433, dated November6, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN MCMAHEL, of Hamilton, in the county of Butlerand State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Im'- provement inStraw-Gutters; and I'do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description thereof, reference being made to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents my improved machine; and Fig. 2shows the ends of the rolls detached, with their grooves and knives.

The object of my present improvement is to furnish such a constructionof cutting apparatus as shall sever the material by what is known as ashearing cut, which'enables the machine to accomplish more work in agiven time with less power than can be accomplished with machines suchas have knives arranged to give a square cut upon the whole body or bulkof the material at the same time.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will describe it withreferences to the accompanying drawings.

The letter A indicates the box. B isA the balance-wheel. H H are thegear-wheels. C is the driving-wheel, and 'D and E are the feeding andcutting rolls.

By reference to the drawings, it will be seen that the roll D is madewith spirally-formed grooves upon its surface. These grooves are nearlyright angles in form; and the roll `AE is similarly constructed, andeach of the ribs or ridges thereof is furnished with a knife of spiralform, which knife is secured to the roll by screws. The position of theknives corresponds with the curved or spiral conformation of the angulargrooves upon the surface of roll D. The knives also inclinelaterally,.so as to form an angle to a line radiating from the axis ofthe roll E.

It will be seen from the drawings that the knife roll E is hung insuitable boxes, by means of its gudgeons, below the roll D, and so thatits top surface is in line with the bottom of the straw-box A. The rollD is also hung at the front of the straw-box in like manner, and at theright-hand side of the machine the gudgeons of these rolls D and E areprovided with pinion-Wheels H H, meshing into each other, andl the upperwheel is actuated by main driving spur-wheel C. On the left-hand side ofthe machine the gudgeon of the roll D is provided with the balancewheelB.

In using my improved straw-cutter, the straw is placed in the box A, andcaused .to be fed between the knives and roll D by the action of the tworolls D and The cutting action is eected by the knives working in closeproximity to the square shoulders formed by the angular grooves on thesurface of roll D.

When the machine is in operation, the several knives and thecorresponding angular projections or shoulders on roll D are graduallybrought in connection from the left to the right hand side of themachine, as the gearwheels H H, which are of the same diameter, revolve,causing a revolving motion tol be communicated to the feeding andcutting rolls D and E. In severing the material in this manner theaction of each knife, with its corresponding shoulder on the upper roll,is like the action of the blades of a pair of shears.

It Will be observed that the use of an upper roll of cylindrical form,with grooves in the form of narrow slots, into which the knives wouldwork, will produce the same effect 5 and instead of using screws tosecure the knives to the roll E, the knives may be fastened by bands atthe ends of the rolls carrying the knives.

Having-fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, as an improvement in straw-cutters, is-

The knives arranged spirally upon one of the feed-rolls, in combinationwith the grooved or shouldered upper feed-roll, as represented in thedrawings at D and E, substantially as described, and operating to give ashearing cut, as set forth, for the purpose set forth.

` JOHN MCMAHEL. Witnesses: l

THOMAS WILSON, H. P. K. PECK.

